Rubber prices turn volatile

MARKET ROUND-UP

It was an eventful day for rubber on Thursday with the near-month contract on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) recording volatile price movements. The commodity opened the day at Rs 10,450 a quintal, up Rs 90 against the previous close.

The intra-day high and low were registered at Rs 10,470 and Rs 10,105, respectively, before closing the session at Rs 10,176 a quintal, down 1.78 per cent. The first three days of the week had seen continuous rise in rubber futures, which breached the Rs 10,000 mark on Tuesday.

The energy index of the MCX fell by over 30 per cent on Thursday to close at 1,991.83 points. Over the last one month, on the back of slipping crude prices globally, natural gas and crude oil have registered a fall of 12.5 per cent and 15.62 per cent, respectively.

Since the beginning of the year, crude oil has seen a steep fall in the futures market. On Thursday, natural gas closed at Rs 294 per mmbtu, whereas crude oil declined to Rs 2,388 a barrel. A month ago, natural gas futures were trading at Rs 336 per mmbtu and crude oil was quoted at Rs 2,830 a barrel.

Among the pulses, urad desi prices declined by 4 per cent during the day on the NCDEX. It fell to Rs 2,980 a quintal from the previous close of Rs 3,114 a quintal. The pulse has seen tough resistance at Rs 3,000 level. Similarly, tur desi could not sustain the Rs 2,000 a quintal level. On Thursday, it slumped to Rs 1,956 against the previous day's close of Rs 1,985.

Market reports suggested that Thursday saw a lot of profit-booking in urad. Moreover, bearish demand despite Makara Sankranti nearing, added to the woes. However, chana managed to buck the bearish trend and jumped Rs 90 to close at Rs 2,465 a quintal. Chana is bullish since the beginning of this week.

Sugar got some relief for the first time this week. It closed at Rs 1,591, up Rs 19 a quintal. However, it is still uncertain whether it will sustain its northward movement.

In the spices market, except jeera, the other commodities closed in the red. Turmeric futures firmed up slightly to Rs 1,966 a quintal against the previous close of Rs 1,958. But, pepper hit back strongly cross the Rs 11,000 level. It closed the day at Rs 11,260 a quintal, up Rs 261. Jeera slumped marginally by Rs 8 to close at Rs 8,950 a quintal.